Send a tree for Fathers Day, this Sunday 16th June! All of our dads like big strong things to create so why not give him a baby tree to nurture and grow into a full grown large tree! We have a great selection of tree gifts to choose from giving year round interest in the garden. Whether it's growing nuts, fruit, blossom, shades of leaves or berries, they wont disappoint!

A grass free lawn has been created in Avondale Park, Kensington & Chelsea. The lawn, which consists of daisies, red-flowering clover, thyme, chamomile, penny royal and Corsican mint will create a pollinator friendly environment. It is found to have 25% more insects than a grass lawn.

Our truffle trees are popular and successful gifts for all different types. The one question we are often asked though is can I grow truffles on my land? Well, the best land for truffle growing should be free from established trees and have a high pH value (7.3-8.3). Soil with quite a low pH level can be utilised as long as adequate lime is applied. Truffles have been grown on fields with a starting pH as low as 4.9 (before lime was spread). The pH can be estimated using simple kits available from most garden centers.

Mr N sent us a question: I bought some blackthorn specimens from yourselves in 2009 to create a defensive planting. Although the plants are growing well and seem healthy, they have still never flowered. Someone suggested that they might not be female specimens. Is this suggestion a load of rubbish or is this species one of these plants with male and female attributes?

And the answer is: The blackthorn flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. They should flower when around 5-6yrs old.

This is one for your Gardening books collection: Plants, Poisons and Personalities by Sandy Primrose.

Take a look around your garden. Did you know that most likely many of those plants do not originate from this country? How did they get here? Which plants have drug-like or aphrodisiac qualities and can be used for medicinal (or perhaps poisonous) purposes? This book is a collection of essays about plants, their histories, origins and peculiarities... click here for further info from Librario.co.uk

RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, July 9-14Set against the backdrop of Hampton Court Palace find ideas on how to grow your own, enjoy outdoor living and much more.

RHS Flower Show Tatton Park , July 24-28Experience summer in all its glory and see the latest innovative creations from up and coming garden designers.

RHS Garden Hyde Hall Celebration of Plants, August 2-8A must for all plant lovers. Browse shop and get advice from specialist nurseries and trade stands.

RHS Wisley Flower Show , September 5-8With around 40 exhibitors, stunning displays and garden sundries enjoy a great day out for gardeners of all abilities.

Malvern Autumn Show, September 28-29Set in the heart of Worcestershire, the show offers the perfect seasonal day out with a host of delectable, inspirational features for food and gardening lovers alike.

RHS London Harvest Festival Show, October 8-9The best of the season's harvest is displayed from the UK's top growers including tastings & exhibits.

RHS London Shades of Autumn Show , October 22-23Packed with autumn- planting inspiration to extend the gardening season. The Lawrence Hall will host more than 20 specialist nurseries from around the UK, offering a wealth of advice and an enviable selection of plants.

A customer recently emailed us about planting a Larch, Cedar and Pine woodland. Here's his question:

"Hi, I have about 2 acres which i would like to create into a woodcould you advise which of the above trees would be the fastest growing, and expected grouth rate, and the quantity required for 2 acres.Also the size of trees you could supply and price."

We can't confirm which of the 3 trees would be the fastest growing as it would depend upon your conditions/light etc. However we have found the larch and pine are pretty fast growers. Bear in mind that Larch, Corsican and Scots Pine are light demanders. For amenity woodland we would recommend you break your area down to scale on some paper into 3mx3m boxes and plant one tree per box.

All of our trees are young 1-2 year old trees. They are of good hardy quality, Scottish grown from UK seed stock and are grown in Rootrainers, which are a bit like large plug plants so this means they can be planted year round. If you are planting a wood, we would recommend that you don't plant during a dry summer as the species do need water to grow and establish.

Need to know how much lime to add for balancing out the soil for the truffle trees? Here's a query we got on the email:

"Purchased one of your hazelnut truffle trees and plan to plant it in a large pot - I have purchased 3 35lt bags of soil fron the garden centre and would like to know how much hydrated lime to add to bring the soil up from ph 7 to the required 7.6-9."

I have just spoken to the team that supply our Truffle trees and they say you won't need much, just a couple of good handfuls as you can always top it up.

"Hi there,I am looking for 8 metres of new hedging for my front garden.I am keen to have the native mixed hedge in the Mixed Hedge Pack but not sure if the 45 plants is too many for the length of hedge required?Would you be able to advise on this and confirm how many plants I should need for 8metres?"

We recommend 6 plants per metre for a thicker hedge, planted in a zig zag or 4 plants per metre for a single row. This works out a total of 48 plants if you were to plant the thicker hedge. We would also recommend that you purchase spiral guards for protection against rabbits etc.